


Of Geniuses and Dead Men

by celtic7irish



Series: An Assembly of Avengers [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Bucky and Steve friendship, Established Relationship, M/M, Spoilers for the ending of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-20
Updated: 2014-05-20
Packaged: 2018-01-25 22:19:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1664552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celtic7irish/pseuds/celtic7irish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony knows what's up.  Fury's still grumpy.  Phil did warn him.  And Clint and Natasha are caught in the middle. Oh...and the Hulk's a little jealous.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Geniuses and Dead Men

Tony glared at the woman standing in front of him in a casual at-ease stance.  Pepper had taken one look at his face when he had stormed into her office, glaring daggers at her head of security, and had left, though not before giving him a hard warning glare.  Which Tony had promptly ignored.

 

He had settled himself in front of the former SHIELD Assistant Director, leaning back against the desk, his hip propped against the corner and his arms crossed over his chest as he frowned at her disapprovingly.  Maria Hill, for her part, just stared steadily back at him, not intimidated in the least.  Tony had to respect her for that, if only grudgingly.  It wasn’t everybody who could stare down Iron Man.

 

“So…Nick Fury is alive, wandering off doing who the hell knows what.  And Coulson is alive, and awfully busy for a dead man.  I hear he’s now the new Director of SHIELD.  The super-secret government agency which was, not so long ago, completely exposed thanks to our resident super soldier.”  Ever since all their secrets, including secrets of the Avengers, had been exposed to the general public, Tony had put the bulk of JARVIS’s processing power towards uncovering the rest of SHIELD’s and HYDRA’s secrets.  Hell, he had personally confirmed that the graves of the two men in question were, indeed, empty.

 

Maria just stared back at him, her expression utterly disinterested.  “If you’re aware of that, Mr. Stark, then why the interrogation?  I was requested to keep it a secret.  We all were,” she added pointedly, and Tony smirked.

 

“Well, yeah, but hello! Genius here.  I’ve had JARVIS in everything to do with anything since the dump.  Even if it’s not spelled out in a databank somewhere, I’m perfectly capable of putting two and two together and coming up with four.  Besides, Cap can’t lie worth shit,” he said bluntly.  Maria snorted in agreement.

 

Tony had to be honest; he was kind of glad that Fury had chosen to hand the reins over to Coulson, of all people.  Tony almost trusted the other man to not screw it up, though admittedly, it couldn’t really end up any worse than being taken over by fucking HYDRA.  He had been far too busy trying to protect his team to worry about what the hell was going on with the rest of SHIELD.  He didn’t know how many agents had been compromised in the dump, or how many deaths could now be attributed to those same agents having their cover blown, with no extraction in place.  Tony somehow doubted that, despite seeming to have his fingers in all the pies, Nick Fury had anticipated either HYDRA or Captain America.

 

“Fine,” he growled, knowing that Maria probably didn’t know much more than what he had already found out.  “So now what? You going back to SHIELD?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.  Maria had better not think that he didn’t know that she had taken time off of work to bring a fucking army down upon one of SHIELD’s hidden bases.  Admittedly, it wasn’t a secret hideout anymore, what with it being compromised and all, but still.  The fact was, Maria Hill had left Stark Industries to attend to SHIELD duties.

 

Maria shrugged.  “That depends, sir.  If you want me to, I can hand in my resignation, effective immediately.  You could also fire me.  My intent upon coming here, however, was the same as many of our former agents.  I simply sought work in the public sector, and felt that I could prove to be of some use to you, and to Stark Industries.  Ms. Potts doesn’t seem to have any complaints,” she added wryly.

 

Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes.  Like he wasn’t aware that the two women were on a first-name basis with each other.  He eyed Maria skeptically.  “Uh huh.  And if Fury or Coulson calls you up and tells you to jump?” he asked.

 

Maria straightened up, her eyes alert now, more intent.  “I ask you how high, sir,” she replied promptly, without hesitation.  Tony wasn’t sure whether or not to believe her, considering she had already left once without informing him.  Then again, that was before Tony had figured out that Fury and Coulson weren’t as dead as they had seemed.  Maybe she was telling the truth now. 

 

With a sigh, Tony decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.  “Fine, fine.  You’re dismissed.  Go resume your duties.  Patrol the corridors, yell at the newbies, just…go do whatever it is you usually do around here,” he grumbled.

 

Maria nodded her head, her hand twitching by her side as if she was about to salute him, but she stopped herself.  “Thank you, sir,” she said, then spun on her heel and left, her back straight and her head held high.  Tony shook his head, an amused smile making his lips twitch.  Maria was one hell of a woman.  No wonder she and Pepper got along so well.

 

Tony scrubbed wearily at his face, wondering what problem he’d have to tackle next.  Return of the Winter Soldier? Alien invasion? Anti-Iron Man propaganda? A massive Hulk-out?  It seemed that every time he turned around, some new complication was demanding his attention.  All he wanted was to grab Bruce and lock the two of them away somewhere, to see if they couldn’t get things sorted out between them.  Ever since Bruce had agreed to at least give a relationship with him a try, they had been too busy to have any time with each other.  Most of their interactions these days were vague greetings as they passed each other in the hallway, clutching their coffee mugs.  Even their research projects didn’t overlap right now.

 

Tony was contemplating coming up with some lame excuse – any excuse, really – to invade Bruce’s lab, but before he had a chance, JARVIS spoke.  _“Sir, there is a gentleman in the lobby requesting to see you.”_

 

Scowling irritably, Tony glared up at the corner where he knew one of JARVIS’s sensors was located.  “Yeah, well, who is it? I’ve told you before, haven’t I, that unless it’s Pepper or Rhodey, they can damn well set up an appointment.”

 

 _“I inquired as to his identity, sir,”_ JARVIS defended himself.  _“His reply was simply ‘Stark knows exactly who I am’.”_   Tony froze for a moment, then groaned, dropping his face into his hands.  There was only one person in the world that would talk to Tony’s AI like that.  Well, he supposed he’d have to deal with the man sooner or later anyhow, so he might as well get it taken care of now.

 

“Fine, J.  Show him to the Avengers Common Floor, would you? And take your time,” he instructed.  JARVIS made an affirmative noise, and Tony strode down the hallway to his private elevator.  There was one that led to the business floors of the Tower. Another one led to both the basement and the Research and Development floors. But this last one was the only one that went up into the Avengers floors.  Usually.  In truth, JARVIS controlled all of the elevators and they all spanned the entire length of the Tower.  But JARVIS was an expert at stalling, and would probably make Fury switch elevators at least twice before letting him onto the common floor.  Even so, Fury was an impatient man, and Tony was about to drop a bomb on his teammates.

 

Fortunately, either JARVIS had anticipated him and gathered the Avengers together, or he was just really lucky, because when he sauntered out of the elevator and into the living room on the Avengers common floor, the rest of the team was gathered there.  Natasha was sitting on the right side of the couch, her legs curled up next to her as she read a book in a language that Tony didn’t know.  Probably Russian.

 

Clint was sitting on the back of the couch, his legs hanging down so that the tops of his feet brushed the backs of Natasha’s legs.  It was a simple comfort, and one that Tony had seen a lot of since Coulson’s supposed death.  It made sense, in a way.

 

His expression lit up when his gaze landed on Bruce, who had been messing around on a Stark Tablet only moments ago, but was now watching him, curled up in an armchair.  He had a plate of cut fruit next to him, and Tony was briefly distracted by the thought of watching him eat. Or hand feeding him.

 

There was a loud bark of laughter, and Thor strode into the room with Steve by his side.  Tony blinked, then narrowed his eyes at the dark-haired man that accompanied him.  He pointed an accusing finger.  “You! How did you get in here?” he demanded of the Winter Soldier.

 

Blue eyes just regarded him coolly.  “Your computer let me in,” he said, his voice cold enough to give Tony frostbite.  Tony glared up at the ceiling.  He and JARVIS were going to have words later.  The AI should know better than to actually obey anything he said when he was drunk.

 

“Fine, fine, whatever,” he muttered, waving the last three into the room.  His teammates finally seemed to realize that something was going on, because they settled down and looked at him with varying expressions of curiosity.

 

Tony took a breath. “Okay, so here’s the deal.  I’ve been doing some snooping, which you all know.” He ignored Steve’s disapproving frown, satisfied that the man at least held his tongue.  “So I’ve found out some very fascinating information.”

 

 _“Sir,”_ JARVIS chose to interrupt just then, _“I feel that I must inform you that – “_

 

Tony cut him off.  “Not now, JARVIS! Can’t you see I’m a little busy here?”

 

 _“Yes, sir, I am aware,”_ the AI acknowledged. _“However, I do believe it is imperative that I – “_

 

“JARVIS?  Mute,” Tony ordered, and JARVIS fell silent immediately.  He turned back to the rest of his teammates.  “Now, where was I?” he murmured.  “Oh, yes.  For those who didn’t get the memo, old One-Eye is alive, and he’s here.”

 

Right on cue, the elevator doors slipped open, and Nick Fury stepped out.  Followed by Phil Coulson.  Who Tony hadn’t gotten around to telling them about yet.  He winced.

 

“And apparently, he has decided that today is an awesome time to bring Coulson, new Director of SHIELD, with him,” Tony muttered.  A beat later, “JARVIS! Why didn’t you tell me Coulson was with him?”

 

 _“I attempted to warn you, sir, but you overrode my voice protocols,”_ JARVIS replied archly.  Tony made a face.

 

Clint Barton, who had been frozen to the spot the moment Phil – his Phil, alive – had walked into the room, swore loudly.  “You son a –“ he snarled, lunging towards Nick Fury.  Tony watched with wide eyes, sort of hoping that Clint would actually manage to land a hit, but Natasha diffused the situation before it came to that, snagging the back of Clint’s belt and yanking, dumping him on his ass on the floor.

 

“That’s enough,” she said calmly, glaring at Clint with steely eyes.  Clint let out a low growl, his body tense and shaking.  Even Tony felt bad for him.

 

Phil stepped forward, sharing a look with Fury that clearly said ‘I told you this was a bad idea’.  “I apologize for the suddenness of my arrival.  Unfortunately, a lot has happened lately, and while I am pleased to see you all again, I came only to reintroduce myself and to see if perhaps I couldn’t borrow a few of Stark’s people,” he said, neither his stance nor his voice betraying the emotions that must be coursing through him at the moment.

 

Tony blinked.  “My people?” he asked.  “What for?  Director,” he added as an afterthought.  Still, it was more consideration than he’d ever given to Fury, and that didn’t go unnoticed by either man.

 

Coulson smiled at him, moving forward to stop just beside Clint, who looked like he couldn’t decide whether to throw himself at Coulson and beg his forgiveness or scramble away and pretend the other man had never been here.  “SHIELD is more than an organization, Stark,” he said.  “It’s made of people with a common set of core beliefs.  Even with it exposed like this, it hasn’t been destroyed. Not entirely.”

 

Tony noticed that the other man was playing with a small black cube, shifting it from hand to hand, and he grew curious.  Phil just smiled at him knowingly, the box disappearing somewhere inside his suit.  “We will rebuild it, but to do that, we need people.  Loyal people.  And if there’s one thing I can say about Stark Industries, its people inspire a great deal of loyalty.”

 

Let it never be said that Tony was slow; he caught on pretty damn fast.  “So you need…what, exactly?  Legal? Tech? Security?” he asked, his mind already working, trying to figure out how many people he had and who he could afford to lend out for an undetermined amount of time.  At last, he realized that he’d just have to call Pepper and explain it to her, since she was the one running the show.

 

“For starters,” Phil said.  Then his lips curved into a small smile.  “We also need the goodwill of the people.  SHIELD can’t hide anymore, which means that we’re going to have to give the rest of the world something to work with.”  That he admitted it so easily made Tony’s respect for him raise a notch.

 

He grinned.  “PR? Oh, I can do PR.  I’ll put some of my people on that immediately.  Well, Pepper will, but that’s the same thing, right?”  he asked.  If his public relations people could keep Tony Stark’s public image from plummeting, doing the same for a secret spy organization shouldn’t be much harder. Right?

 

JARVIS spoke again.  _“Sir? I am detecting six other individuals on the premises that wish to meet the Avengers.”_

Coulson frowned.  “Six? I only brought five,” he said softly.

 

Tony shrugged.  “You got names for me, J?” he asked.

 

 _“Of course, sir.  Agent Melinda May, Agent Antoine Triplett, Jemma Simmons, Leo Fitz, Skye - no last name, and Mr. Wilson,”_ JARVIS replied promptly.  Tony rolled his eyes.

 

“You know Sam doesn’t have to go through the whole process, J,” he reprimanded.  JARVIS didn’t reply.  Shrugging, Tony turned back to Coulson and Fury.  “Wilson’s ours.  The rest are yours?” he confirmed.  Coulson nodded, and Tony shrugged.  “You heard the man.  Let ‘em up, JARVIS.”  Tony stared at Coulson, hard, but the other man just blinked at him, confused.  Tony let his eyes flicker to the assassin twins.  Natasha had pulled Clint onto the couch, and the two of them were pressed against each other, watching every twitch that Coulson made, as if making sure that he was really, truly alive.

 

Nick Fury snorted.  “This is going to take forever.  Look,” he said, pointing at each of them in turn, “I’m out.  I’ve got shit to do, and no time to do it in, so I’m going to go on my merry way.  Phil here is now in charge. If he says jump, you just better jump and hope it’s high enough.  Barton, Romanov! You’re part of the Avengers now, but the Director here needs good people.  So I’d suggest you talk it out amongst yourselves and figure out what you’re going to do.  Stark, don’t cause problems,” he added, peering over his sunglasses at Tony, who just grimaced at him.

 

Nodding, Nick turned to the rest of them.  “Thor, Doctor Banner, Captain, it’s good to see you all doing so well.  And you,” he said, staring straight at the Winter Soldier, “are we going to have problems?”

 

Barnes seemed to think about it for a moment, then shook his head.  “I’m not going back to them,” he said, as if that solved everything.  And maybe it did.  If nothing else, it was enough to satisfy Fury for the moment, and he dismissed Barnes entirely afterwards.

 

Just then, the elevator dinged, and Tony realized that JARVIS hadn’t made the others switch elevators.  Fury must’ve realized it too, because he leveled another glare at Tony, who just shrugged, unrepentant.  As the six people stepped out, Sam moving over to stand with Steve and Bucky, Tony regarded the others silently, knowing they were doing the same to him and the rest of the Avengers.

 

He had heard about most of these people, knew their history, had learned from JARVIS’s databanks when the AI had found out about Coulson, tapped into what he’d been doing in that giant airborne monstrosity they called the Bus.  Melinda May, the Cavalry, was a petite Asian woman with angry eyes and a fierce expression.  Even here, where she was as safe as Tony and JARVIS could manage, she was wary, battle-ready.  Tony really, really hoped he never had to experience her combat skills first-hand, though he rather wished she had kept hold of the Berserker Staff or whatever the hell that thing had been.  He would’ve loved to get his hands on it and do some experimenting.  Especially since it was Asgardian, and Thor wouldn’t let Tony mess around with Mjölnir.

 

Agent Triplett was staring at them in well-concealed awe, though his gaze kept drifting towards Steve, and the metal-armed soldier next to him.  Tony grinned, then spoke to Steve without moving his gaze away from assessing Coulson’s team.  “Hey, Cap?” he murmured.  Once he had the blond’s attention, he gestured at Triplett.  “Meet the grandson of one of your Howling Commandos,” he smirked.

 

Steve tensed, his gaze suddenly focused solely on the uneasy dark-skinned agent.  “You…who? Gabe?” he asked.  The female scientist was watching the two of them, her eyes wide as she seemed to finally realize just who they were dealing with.  Almost instinctively, her hand reached out, her fingers caught by the other young kid – Fitz?  Tony repressed his ‘awww’ at that, finding their young puppy love to be somewhat adorable.  In college, he had been far more interested in circuit boards than in people, and he’d been too young for most of the people around him to consider him for a suitable boyfriend.  Even back then, he’d happily blow off people and dates for a more interesting project.  Only Rhodey had ever managed to get past that and actually befriend him, his stubbornness rewarded with more antagonizing.  Tony still wondered, sometimes, what Rhodey had seen in him.

 

There was one more girl in their group, and Tony stared steadily at Skye, who stared right back at him.  A 0-8-4, an unidentified object by SHIELD standards.  A singular being whose entire village had been destroyed in a matter of hours while something or someone – friend or enemy was still unknown – hunted for her.  A hacker, and a former member of the dubious Rising Tide, a group dedicated to exposing government secrets to the general public.

 

Not much was known about her, and Tony had set JARVIS to hunting everything regarding the girl.  She appeared to be a normal human, intelligent and focused, but Tony felt odd watching her.  Like she knew a lot more about him than he did about her, things that weren’t necessarily public knowledge.  He made a mental note to himself to upgrade JARVIS’s firewalls, and to set some things in place specifically designed to inform him if Skye was trying to hack him.

 

Skye just raised her eyebrow at him, a small smile teasing at her mouth.  “This happen a lot?” she asked, gesturing between Steve and Triplett.  The two men were involved in an in-depth conversation. They both remembered the Howling Commandos, but in different capacities.  Tony was sure that Steve would be pleased with yet another connection to his past.  Barnes was hanging back a ways, but he could no doubt hear the conversation going on between the other two men.  After all, he had once been one of the Commandos and Steve Rogers’ personal best friend and right-hand man, his sniper.  He had a connection in there, too, even if he didn’t remember.

 

Tony shrugged back at her, noting that Phil had moved towards Clint and Natasha, crouched on the floor in front of them, his hands held tightly in their own as they spoke in low murmurs.  Fury had…made himself scarce, but Tony trusted that JARVIS would keep an eye on the former Director.  The AI was nearly as paranoid as Tony himself.  Besides, Wilson was gone, too, and Tony thought he might have some idea of where he had gone.  He’d be back, though; he wanted Tony to take a look at the Falcon Wings, see if he couldn’t make some improvements to them.

 

“Not often, no.  Cap here doesn’t exactly have a lot of links to his past right now,” he shrugged, answering Skye’s question.  Then again, there was Bucky, and Tony himself, and now Triplett.  And Peggy was still alive; Steve had visited her.  So it wasn’t like there weren’t _any_ connections, just…not very many.   “But I do like to encourage it when it does.  If only for the entertainment value,” he admitted.

 

There was a commotion behind him, and Tony turned, startled, before he realized what had happened.  Fitz and Simmons had apparently used their powers of deduction to figure out who, exactly, Bruce was.  The Hulk, yes, but more importantly, he was _the_ Doctor Banner.  Bruce was looking a little overwhelmed as the two of them fired questions at him, not giving him time to respond before throwing another one at him.

 

Bruce shot him a look, and Tony grinned.  Then he deliberately turned his back on the other man, turning back to Skye, who arched an eyebrow at him.  “Did you seriously just do that?” she demanded.

 

Tony shrugged.  “Yep!” he confirmed cheerfully, strolling over to her.  If he hadn’t known about her and the traitor Ward, he might’ve tried to pick her up.  But given her propensity for hacking, and the temptation he was sure he represented, that would probably have been a bad idea under normal circumstances.  Not to mention that Phil would probably shoot him for even thinking it.  Non-lethal, of course, but it would still hurt.

 

“He’ll be fine. They’re talking science,” he shrugged.  “Besides, if he Hulks out on them, I bet it’d solve the problem really fast.”  Skye just looked at him in disbelief, and he grinned, aware that it was a bit vicious.  Bruce could fend for himself, and when he couldn’t, Iron Man would take care of it.  But in this case, Bruce wasn’t really in danger of Hulking out.  They weren’t angry, or threatening, or anything, really.  Just excited to finally get to meet the man whose technology they had used in some of their more recent missions.  And, of course, they were both well aware of his work in anti-electron collisions, genetics, biophysics, and a whole host of other fields.  Bruce was something of a well of knowledge for multiple areas, and what he didn’t know, he would learn.

 

More importantly, for Tony at least, was that even though they knew Bruce Banner was the Hulk, they weren’t interested in that – except perhaps as a scientific endeavor.  They were interested in the scientist.  There weren’t enough people like that in the world, so Tony liked to encourage those who were.

 

“Look,” Skye began, “I don’t know what you know about us, or about AC here, but…don’t give him a rough time, okay?” she said, and Tony felt his expression soften.  He had wondered which of them would get around to stating their position regarding Coulson.

 

“AC?” he asked, delighted.  He could practically feel Coulson glaring a hole in the back of his head.  “That’s kind of awesome.  What? Did he tell you not to call him Phil or something?” he asked.  Skye laughed, young and bright and unrestrained.  And Tony realized, then, just how young she was.  How young Fitz and Simmons were.  How young Triplett was.  Young, but already jaded, experienced in fear and pain and betrayal.

 

His eyes met Coulson’s across the room, and he saw the same tension there, the same understanding.  They were children yet, and Coulson had taken it upon himself to protect them, all of them.  But he couldn’t do it by himself, couldn’t do it alone, with only the Cavalry for backup.  Tony sighed, frowned, then waved his hand.  “Just get a list together of what you need. I’ll see that you get it.  Barton and Romanov can do what they want.  SHIELD is starting from the ground up, and the Avengers aren’t exactly under anyone’s purview right now,” he admitted.  Then he tilted his head in thought.  “Actually, is the Avengers Initiative even a thing, still?” he asked.

 

Skye snorted in amusement behind him, and Coulson just looked at him steadily.  Tony grinned back, still a bit overwhelmed at having the other man here, alive, in his Tower.  He had known it in his head, but it was different, having him here.  He wasn’t like the rest of Coulson’s team, hadn’t known about his miraculous revival, hadn’t been working side by side with him, hadn’t even heard a damn thing from the man himself.

 

Coulson seemed to read him – how the fuck did he do that? – and he smiled self-deprecatingly.   “I take it Maria didn’t tell you I said hello, given that you thought I was dead and everything,” he said, and Tony blanched.  He and Maria Hill were definitely going to have another talk.  This one might involve a bit of yelling.  Or a lot of yelling.  It would really depend on his mood at the time.

 

Tony scowled back at him.  “She didn’t, but once I knew that Fury was alive, I figured I’d check for you, too.  You’ve been busy,” he observed.  “And now you’re the Director of a defunct organization.  I feel like offering my sympathies might be more appropriate than saying congratulations.”

 

Fury showed up then, trailed by Wilson and May, who were eyeing each other suspiciously.  Tony wondered what they’d been up to that had put those looks on their faces.  Fury’s expression was as blank as ever, and Tony grumbled internally.  The man was a pain in his ass, even as a dead man.

 

“Are we ready?” Fury asked bluntly, eyeing the lot of them.  Tony resisted the urge to stick his tongue out, then decided to hell with it and did it anyhow.  Fury just glared at him, but otherwise ignored his childish antics.

 

Coulson nodded.  “We’re ready, sir.”  Tony shot him another look; he was the fucking Director of SHIELD now.  Why was he still calling Fury ‘sir’?

 

Steve reached out to clasp both men’s hands firmly, smiling in genuine pleasure.  “It’s good to see you both,” he murmured.  Turning to Phil, his expression softened into something a little darker, but no less pleased.  “I’m really glad you made it, sir,” he said.  “And I will be honored to serve SHIELD, should you need me.”  It was an impressive offer, given that Steve had found out not long ago that SHIELD had been infiltrated by HYDRA almost since its inception.  Tony could tell that Coulson was aware of that, and that he gave the offer the respect and consideration it deserved when he thanked Steve.

 

“Thank you, Captain.  Though I do hope that, the next time we see each other, it will not be while trying to prevent the end of the world.” Coulson’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, and Tony relaxed.  Whatever had happened, whatever Coulson had suffered through, he had come out of it very much the same man he’d always been, if a little more worn, a little more wary.

 

The moment the group left, JARVIS silently taking them down to the ground floor, the rest of the Avengers whirled on Tony, who just held his hands up in a gesture of surrender, leaning back from the angry faces of his teammates.  “Whoa, whoa, geez,” he griped.  “I tried to warn you. Not my fucking fault that I didn’t have any time.”

 

“How long have you known about Phil?” Clint demanded.  Tony noticed that the others had let him speak first, apparently feeling that Clint, of all of them, had the right to ask that question.

 

Tony made a face at him, then called out, “JARVIS?”

 

 _“The relevant data you are inquiring about was confirmed forty-nine minutes ago by Ms. Hill,” JARVIS replied promptly.  “Prior to verbal confirmation, the existence of Director Coulson was a possibility, but the evidence remained inconclusive.”_ In other words, it hadn’t been in a computer anywhere, and so their suspicions had been mostly based on conjecture and variables that didn’t add up.  Tony had found out about the Bus, and the team on it, but he hadn’t been positive that Coulson was leading them.  His name had been hidden from all electronic records, but Tony had known that there was no way that Agent May or Agent Ward were in charge.  The other possibility had been Nick Fury himself, who Tony had already confirmed as being alive through Steve, which was why Tony hadn’t said anything.  If he had been wrong…well, then he wouldn’t be standing here, getting glared at by his teammates.

 

“I knew about the rest of the team.  I didn’t know about Coulson,” he admitted.  “His name wasn’t in any of the mission logs, and I couldn’t find any electronic trace of him following the incident on the Helicarrier.  As far as I knew – as far as anybody knew – Phil Coulson died on the Helicarrier, stabbed by Loki! In fact, he really shouldn’t be alive right now! I don’t know how they saved him. I’m working on it,” he protested, a small part of him hurt that the others would actually think he’d keep something that important hidden from them without a good reason.

 

“Perhaps you might’ve said something as soon as you suspected?” Sam Wilson offered hesitantly, his tone thoughtful, rather than condemning.  Tony didn’t notice, as he opened his mouth to retort.  A sudden tug on his arm had him stumbling backwards, into Bruce, who smiled gently at Sam.

 

“I didn’t know Coulson all that well,” he said softly, “but he meant something to everybody here, some more than others.  Do you honestly believe that false hope would have better than silence?” he asked, and his voice was reasonable, calm.  Sam tilted his head in acknowledgment, then glanced sideways at Steve, who looked confused for a moment. 

 

Then Barnes shifted, stepping up next to him, and Steve finally got it.  If he had been told that Bucky might – _just might_ – be alive, even though there was no concrete proof, he wouldn’t have stopped until he found him.  He would have run himself into the ground, chasing leads that weren’t there. He wouldn’t have been able to focus on anything else.

 

And Clint…he would have done the same with Phil.  Would have compromised anything, everything, to find him and bring him back.  And where Clint went, so too went Natasha.  An ill-advised hypothesis with no conclusive evidence to back it up would have downed the Avengers by one third of their total force.  And they couldn’t afford that, not with SHIELD gone, with HYDRA on the move, with even the Avengers compromised.  They had needed a united front, and Tony wasn’t going to jeopardize that by so much as _hinting_ that he thought Coulson might not be as dead as they’d all believed for the past several months.

 

Clint wasn’t ready to let it go at that, though.  “You confirmed with Maria Hill,” he said, hands clenched at his sides, his body vibrating with tension.  He had been holding back when Coulson was here, trying not to let the other man know how badly his death – and resurrection – had affected him.  But now, there was no one to hold him back. Natasha certainly wasn’t going to.  She was just as angry, but her anger was a cold thing.  Tony scowled at her; she had been complicit in keeping Fury’s not-death a secret. Why would she be surprised when Tony kept Coulson’s possible survival a secret as well?

 

“I did,” he acknowledged.  “Less than an hour ago. And then I came up here to tell you guys about Fury.  I would have told you about Coulson after he left.  I wasn’t expecting the man himself to show up.”  He already knew what Clint was going to say, and his cut him off, his lips curling viciously as he let some of his own personal darkness creep through.  He wasn’t about to take any shit from the archer, not after the man had fucking been mind-controlled by Loki.  He had single-handedly crippled the Helicarrier, caused the emergence of the Hulk, nearly gotten both Fury and Natasha killed, helped Loki steal some poor guy’s eye, and had helped the fucking god of lies to build a portal from the top of his fucking Tower.  Clint had no right to accuse him of betrayal, in any form.

 

“I don’t answer to SHIELD,” he snarled. “Consultant only, remember? And you can thank Romanov for that, by the way,” he added.  “I don’t owe you anything.  The same goes true for you, doesn’t it?  After all, anybody want to tell me how, exactly, SHIELD managed to hack JARVIS not once, not even twice, but three fucking times?  If we want to play the ‘who betrayed who’ game, we can do that.  And I can assure you, I’ll win,” he snarled.

 

Clint paused, taken aback.  Even Natasha had stilled, her eyes widening slightly.  “Tony,” Steve murmured, trying to diffuse the situation.  He only managed to attract Tony’s anger, instead.

 

“What?” Tony snapped.  “So help me, if you say a fucking word about my dad, I’m going to throw you out the goddamn window.”  Because that’s what Steve would try to do, right? Point out that his dad had founded SHIELD, and that SHIELD was supposed to be the good guys?  Hell, Captain America had been the one to dismantle the organization from the top down, not Tony.

 

This time, it was Barnes who snarled at him, stepping protectively in front of Steve.  “Stark,” he warned, his metal hand clenching and unclenching at his side, the threat clear.  Tony’s self-preservation instincts weren’t completely gone, and he just growled at the group as a whole, then whirled and stalked away, heading for the elevators.  He’d go down to the workshop and take the suit out to blow shit up until he felt better, until the urge to take out his own frustrations on his teammates abated.

 

“Tony, wait,” a familiar voice called, and Tony stopped right inside the elevator, waiting.  JARVIS politely held the door open for Bruce, who slipped in next to him.  The doors closed, and the elevator slid smoothly downwards.  JARVIS knew where Tony wanted to go, even without him saying anything.  Tony didn’t look up as Bruce spoke. “Sam’s trying to calm the others down,” he explained.

 

Tony nodded shortly.  “And you got Stark-sitting duty?” he muttered.  “What did you do to deserve that?”  He couldn’t hide the bitterness in his tone, and a part of him realized that he might have overreacted, but the larger part was still raging at all of them – Clint, Natasha, Steve, Barnes, maybe even a bit at Sam for being the first one to speak up.  And Bruce, for not saying anything at all.

 

“Tony,” Bruce said again, and this time, the engineer heard the warning in his voice.  He looked up, catching a glimpse of Bruce’s hard eyes.  Swallowing, he felt the guilt flicker through him, but he didn’t break his gaze.  After a moment, Bruce’s eyes softened, his mouth relaxing into an easy smile.  “Welcome back,” he murmured, and Tony felt himself flush lightly.

 

“Sorry,” he mumbled, his head dropping to Bruce’s shoulders, pleased when the other man didn’t move away.  Bruce was still wary of touch, but at the same time, he craved it.  It had led to some very interesting conversations since Tony had finally admitted his feelings to Bruce.  Well, sort of, if propositioning the man for sex counted as a confession.

 

A hand stroked through his hair, and he groaned.  “Dammit.  I’m gonna owe them an apology, aren’t I?” he murmured.  A chuckle was his only answer, and Tony sighed.  He really, really hated apologizing.  Especially when it wasn’t his fault.

 

The elevator doors opened just then, and Tony silently thanked JARVIS for his tact.  He wondered if the others had figured out just how much autonomy the AI had, especially in this building.  He knew that Bruce suspected.  And Steve treated JARVIS like a human, but that might have just been him being his normal polite self.  SHIELD didn’t think anything about hacking into him and shutting off his systems, which pissed Tony off to no end.

 

“What are you working on?” Bruce asked as they walked into the lab. 

 

Tony chuckled darkly.  “Actually, the plan was to just blow shit up until I felt better.”  Then he grinned. “Hey, you think the Big Guy would like to play, too?” he asked brightly.  Bruce gave him a look, and Tony pouted. “Come on, please?” he wheedled.  He could see that Bruce was actually considering it, so he cranked up the charm a bit.  “Hulk needs some playtime, too.  And maybe if we let him smash for a while, he’ll behave?”  Not that the Hulk had ever really been a problem, since he was as protective of Tony as Bruce was, but Bruce still worried _all the time_ that Hulk was going to make an appearance and destroy the life he was slowly building here.

 

Bruce sighed, his lips quirking slightly, and Tony cheered silently, knowing he’d won.  “All right.  But not in the workshop, Tony,” he insisted.  Tony nodded; they’d use the specially made Hulk bunker.  Which Bruce didn’t know about yet.

 

Moving to stand on the assembly platform, Tony stood still as JARVIS assembled the suit around him, the pieces latching on smoothly.  He could have just summoned the suit to him, without JARVIS’s help, but he rather enjoyed watching people’s reactions as strong metal claws wielded tools and gripped his limbs, trusting that JARVIS wouldn’t hurt him, even though he could.  He grinned at Bruce just before the face plate snapped down, the HUD lighting up.  He knew the Iron Man eyes were glowing, and he stepped confidently off the platform, holding out his hand to Bruce.

 

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” he informed him cheerfully.  “But we’ve got to get there first.”  Bruce eyed him warily for a moment, but this wouldn’t actually be his first flight with Iron Man.  It would be his third, and he still didn’t like it.

 

Bruce cocked his head.  “How about you lead, I’ll follow,” he suggested wryly.  Tony swallowed a laugh inside the suit; Bruce was offering to willingly let the Hulk out before it was time to smash, just so he didn’t have to fly with the suit.  He just stood there, waiting, and after a moment, Bruce sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.  The Other Guy has no concept of collateral damage.”  He’d probably do some structural damage to a number of buildings on the way to where they were going.

 

With another resigned sigh, Bruce stepped up into Iron Man’s arms, pressing against the warming metal.  Carefully, Tony gripped him firmly.  Inside the suit, he was talking to JARVIS, who had finished running pre-flight analysis and was just waiting.  “All right, J.  Open her up!” he said, and a section of the wall moved, sliding open.  Beyond that was a long hallway that had no other purpose than as an exit for the Iron Man armor.  Another door opened in the side of the building, and Tony took off, Bruce clinging to him as they shot out into the air.

 

Whooping in joy, Tony took to the skies, keeping low enough that it wouldn’t cause Bruce any problems breathing.  The other man just tucked his head into Iron Man’s chest, and Tony concentrated on keeping him safe, letting JARVIS take control of the flight, stabilizing them.

 

Less than twenty minutes later, Tony set down in front of a large warehouse.  The warehouse was located a few miles outside the city, and surrounded by land owned by Tony.  Bruce looked at the building skeptically for a moment, then turned that gaze to Tony, who flipped up his face mask to grin at his boyfriend – or whatever it was Bruce wanted to call them.  “Come on, I’ll show you,” he offered, taking Bruce’s hand.

 

As soon as they walked in, Bruce stopped dead, and Tony stopped with him, watching with undisguised glee as he took it in.  The entire building had been reinforced, designed to stand up to the Hulk – or at least buy them some time to calm him down before he busted through a wall or something.  The ceiling was an arched dome, as and Bruce watched, the ceiling panels went translucent – one-way only – so that he could see the sky.  Hulk didn’t like enclosed spaces, they reminded him of captivity and men who wanted to hurt or control him.

 

But the best part about this was that it was filled with junk.  Much of it had come from Stark Industries, leftover construction equipment, vehicles, steel beams and chains.  There was metal and tires and wood, all currently useless things that now had no other purpose than to be destroyed, either by Iron Man’s repulsors or Hulk’s fists.  Even better, the entire warehouse was insulated, to keep echoing down on a minimum.  Hulk could go crazy in here, and it would never reach past the borders of the property the building sat on.

 

With a low whine, Tony charged the repulsor on his right hand, lifting it and blasting a pile of steel beams, scattering them.  They crashed into walls and the floor and other pieces of junk with satisfying metal clangs, and Tony grinned, his eyes bright.  “Come on, Big Guy,” he coaxed, looking at Bruce, who had just watched the destruction with wide eyes.

 

Bruce blinked, then sighed.  Moving off into a corner, he stripped out of his clothes, modesty long since surrendered in favor of actually having clothes when he transformed back.  Besides, stripping in front of Tony – who was now technically his boyfriend, lover, sweetheart, whatever – was a lot different than waking up naked (or mostly naked) in some random part of the world and having to accept help from whoever would give it.

 

Tony watched Bruce strip appreciatively, wondering if perhaps he’d be allowed to try and do a bit more than kiss the other man tonight.  Then again, transforming always made Bruce tired, so perhaps that wouldn’t be the best idea.  Tony would probably end up feeling like he’d taken advantage of the other man’s exhaustion, even if Bruce agreed to it.

 

Bruce turned back around, already changing, and Tony kept his face plate up, grinning widely as the Hulk looked around him, wondering where the danger was.  There were no weapons, or aliens, or even people, except for Tony.  And Tony was safe.  “Metal Man,” Hulk rumbled softly in greeting.

 

Tony grinned at him.  “Aww…are you being shy, Big Guy?” he asked.  “It’s all right.  You can make as much noise as you want in here, and nobody will hear you, okay?”  Then he gestured to the stuff behind him.  “Metal Man needs to smash for a while, and thought Hulk might like to play, too.  What do you say? Are you up for a bit of smashing? I have to see how well it holds up anyhow,” he added.

 

Hulk looked at the objects.  “Hulk can smash?” he asked, and his voice was adorable uncertain.  In answer, Tony raised his left hand, his face plate snapping down as he sent a repulsor beam at a small tower of metal blocks, sending them flying in all different directions, tumbling over other objects in the room, the echoing clang dying out after a moment.

 

“Yeah, Hulk.  You can smash,” he confirmed.  The green giant roared in excitement, bounding across the bunker, sending items careening into walls and piles of junk, laughing as he picked up an old car and hurled it through the air.  Tony was glad that he had reconstructed the ceiling to make the building high enough for him to fly in, or that car would have probably gone _through_ the roof instead.

 

Taking to the air, Tony started blasting whatever was in sight, his anger building with increasing furor.  He had calmed down a bit while flying with Bruce, not wanting to wind up with a Hulk on his hands while flying.  He was pretty sure the Iron Man armor couldn’t carry the Hulk’s weight.  But the anger had still been there, simmering at the back of his mind, and now that he was in a safe place, with a creature that was all but indestructible, he cut loose, working out his frustrations.  Normally, he’d build things, lock himself in the lab for hours or days on end, but sometimes, he just needed to blow stuff up.  This was one of those days.

 

The Hulk’s roars echoed in the building, and JARVIS kept him amused as well with little anecdotes.  Gradually, Tony calmed down, coming to settle on the floor of the bunker nearly two hours later, his arms dropping to his side as he reclined back on a twisted pile of scrap metal that was formed somewhat like a curved chaise lounge.  Depressing a small button on the side of his suit, Tony fished out a small packet of dried fruit.

 

A moment later, Hulk came trundling towards him, baring his teeth in an excited, happy smile.  Tony flipped up his face plate and smiled back at him.  “Hey.  Did you have fun?” he asked.

 

Hulk nodded.  “Hulk smash,” he declared proudly.  Then, “Metal Man smash with Hulk?” His tone was hopeful, and Tony blinked for a moment, then smiled easily.

 

“Sure, buddy.  Metal Man will smash with you. But next time, all right?  Metal Man is done for the day.”

 

Hulk frowned.  “Metal Man not smash anymore?” he asked, disappointed.

 

Tony shook his head.  “Not today, but I promise that we’ll play some other time, okay?  This,” he said, gesturing expansively at the building, “belongs to me.  It’s a special Hulk smashing room, okay?  So we can come back here whenever we want, and smash things.  How’s that sound?”

 

Hulk seemed to contemplate the offer for a moment, but then nodded reluctantly, huffing out a long breath before dropping onto the floor near Tony.  As the billionaire watched in fascination, Hulk shrunk back to Bruce, his knees curling up to cover himself.  Tony grinned, holding out the clothes that he had retrieved earlier from the corner.  Bruce smiled at him gratefully, slipping into the pants and shirt as he looked around.  “You’re not hurt?” he asked Tony, just to make sure, though he didn’t sound too worried.

 

Tony shook his head, grinning.  “Nope!  In fact, Hulk was kind of disappointed that I didn’t smash with him,” he said.  “So I promised him that next time, we’d smash things together.”  He held out his snack, and Bruce absentmindedly took a handful, popping them into his mouth.  Tony glanced at the bag.  Blueberries.  He grinned.

 

Bruce eyed the mess they’d made.  Between Hulk’s fists and Iron Man’s repulsors, they had pretty well wrecked the place.  But nothing was on fire, nobody was hurt, and it had all been contained inside the building, never mind the acres of property the building sat on.  Craning his neck, Bruce stared up at the ceiling, which was still see-through from the inside.  It was early evening by now, so the sky was filled with purples and oranges as the sun set.

 

Tony reached for Bruce, who didn’t protest when Tony pulled him back against his side, his arm resting across the other man’s shoulders.  Turning his head, Tony pressed a small kiss into Bruce’s curls, then sighed, dropping his head and letting his eyes close.  “I don’t want to go back,” he murmured.

 

Bruce chuckled, his hand reaching up awkwardly to pat Tony’s head where it was pressed against his shoulder.  “You sort of have to. You own the building, after all.  Besides, I can’t imagine that there’s anything resembling comfortable furniture in here,” he added, his tone amused.  “And I, for one, would like a bed.  Preferably sooner rather than later.”

 

That was enough to push Tony to his feet, reaching out a hand to help Bruce up.  He tugged on the other man’s arm, and Bruce stumbled into him.  Laughing, Tony wrapped his arms around Bruce, holding him tight.  Bruce stared at him wide-eyed for a moment, and then relaxed, his hands coming up to rest on Tony’s back, between his shoulder blades, his head dropping to rest against Tony’s chest. 

 

“Another twenty minutes, and we’ll be home,” Tony encouraged his lover softly.  “Come on, buddy.”  Bruce just gave him a wry smile, and the two men made their way carefully through the warehouse.  Tony could tell that Bruce was tired, and knew that transforming took a great deal of energy out of him.  But he wasn’t disoriented or debilitatingly weak, either.  He had been fine sitting, and perfectly lucid, probably because nobody had been trying to kill or capture him this time.

 

They were about twenty feet from the door when they burst inwards, rocked by a small explosion.  Tony instinctively raised his hands, and Bruce stumbled backwards, already transforming.  Six people stared at them in wide-eyed shock, and Phil Coulson just sighed.  “You own this facility, Stark?” he asked.

 

Tony blinked, then narrowed his eyes, catching sight of their plane outside.  “Uh…yeah.  I’ve owned it for about three months now.  I just finished renovating it, so is there a reason you blew up my doors?” he demanded.  He could see Coulson’s team backing away slowly, and a low rumbling growl echoed around the building.  Tony turned around and pressed one armored hand against Hulk’s chest.  “It’s all right, they’re not going to hurt you.  They’re Phil’s friends. You remember Phil, right?”  Hulk had never met Phil personally, but Bruce knew him, so hopefully that would be enough for Hulk to make a connection.

 

Hulk bared his teeth at the agents.  “Puny humans,” he rumbled in disgust, and Tony chuckled.  “Metal Man smashes here,” he informed them.

 

“Ah, yes, I can see that, Mr. Hulk,” Coulson said mildly, looking around at the hunks of twisted metal strewn about the place.  “I apologize for intruding.  These coordinates were in the Toolbox, so I had assumed – falsely, apparently – that this was still a SHIELD facility.”

 

Tony couldn’t help himself. He burst out laughing, doubling over and hanging onto one of Hulk’s thick arms to keep himself upright.  Hulk just stayed put, letting him use him for support.

 

“Umm…we’ll just be going now?” Skye said, her voice small.  Tony glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, but she didn’t seem afraid, just embarrassed.  Fitz and Simmons were less successful at masking their fear. The same went for Triplett, though he hid it much better than the two scientists.  Melinda May looked distinctly unimpressed, and Coulson had a small smile on his face, his expression one of acceptance.

 

Tony patted Hulk’s arm and spoke to them.  “Yeah, hang on a sec, would you?” he asked, then promptly forgot about them, turning back to face Hulk.  “Hey, Big Green,” he murmured, “you ready to go back?  We need to get back to  the Tower, so I sort of need Bruce back.  Okay?”

 

Hulk just gave him a disinterested look, then wrapped a large hand around his waist, picking him up and holding him carefully.  Tony sighed, dropping his face plate down and wrapping his arms around Bruce’s neck.  “All right.  We would’ve had to get you more pants anyhow,” he muttered.

 

Phil spoke up.  “I do apologize about your doors, Mr. Stark,” he said.  “We’ll repair them, if you’d like.”

 

Tony just waved his hand dismissively.  “No need.  Go save the world or capture Hydra villains or unravel the mysteries of the world.  Whatever.  I’ll have this place fixed up in no time.  I’ll just add the repairs to your tab, okay?”

 

Hulk didn’t bother to stick around long enough for him to hear Coulson’s reply.  He blew past the SHIELD delegation and took off running.  Tony just held on tightly.  He preferred flying over being carried, but he wasn’t about to argue with Hulk, especially since it meant that the big guy would ignore the intrusion into their private place by outsiders.

 

Tucking his head down firmly, Tony trusted that Hulk knew where he was going, that he knew where home was.  Sure enough, about thirty minutes later, they were bounding up to his Tower.  “Whoa, whoa, wait!” Tony yelped! “Hold on, Hulk! HULK!” he shouted frantically.  Hulk skidded to a stop just across the street, on the roof of another building, glaring down at Tony reproachfully.

 

Tony squirmed, and Hulk let him drop to his feet on the rooftop.  Flipping his faceplate up, Tony looked down, then checked the sky, making sure there weren’t any news crews or anything around.  He breathed out a sigh of relief.  “All right,” he muttered.  “Now can I have Bruce come back, please?” he asked. 

 

Hulk narrowed his eyes at him.  “Metal Man wants puny Banner,” he grumbled, offended.  “Metal Man is Hulk’s friend.”

 

Tony froze, biting back his normal witty replies, realizing that this probably went a bit further than he had anticipated.  “Umm…yes.  You and I are friends.  Bruce and I are friends.  I like both Bruce and Hulk, but I need Bruce to get inside my building,” he said, gesturing towards the Tower.  He didn’t add that he’d rather not have to repair Hulk hand and foot dents if the green guy decided to climb the Tower walls or something.  At least with Bruce, they could just walk inside.  They might get some odd looks, sure, but it was better than setting off a mass panic, right?

 

Hulk’s eyes narrowed at him.  “Hulk not hurt Metal Man’s friends,” he declared, and Tony blinked.  What the hell was wrong with Hulk today?

 

“Umm…yeah, I know that,” he admitted.  “But lots of people are still scared of you, because they don’t know you.”

 

Hulk seemed to think about that for a moment. “Puny humans not scared of Banner.  Scared of Hulk.  Hulk not hurt puny humans.  Still scared,” he grumbled.  And Tony was starting to get an inkling of what was going on.  The problem was, he didn’t know how to fix it.  How did you get people to not be afraid of the Hulk.  Even Tony knew that you couldn’t just walk the guy into a crowd of people and expect them not to panic. And screaming people tended to annoy the Hulk.  Probably because screaming was usually followed by shooting.  Tony wouldn’t like it, either.

 

Reaching out carefully, he laid both of his hands on Hulk’s arm.  “I know that, Hulk,” he said, not breaking his gaze, “but they don’t know that, not yet.  I’ll work on it, I promise.  Because Hulk is a hero, and the people should know that.  But right now, we need to get inside the Tower.  So I need Bruce.  But I promise, we’ll figure something out, okay?”

 

Hulk eyed him suspiciously, and Tony gave him a gentle smile.  “Hey, now.  Have I ever lied to you?” he asked.  Hulk blinked, then shook his head, rumbling in his chest.  “Then trust me now, okay?  We’ll do something.  It just might take some time, all right?”

 

With a hard exhale, Hulk started shrinking back down into Bruce.  Tony grabbed him as the other man nearly toppled over, barely conscious.  Transforming twice had seriously taken it out of him.  “Wha’?” Bruce mumbled.  Tony just shushed him, scooping him up carefully.  Bruce didn’t protest, and Tony took to the air, flying carefully the short distance to the Tower.  He bypassed the gantry entirely, striding into his penthouse.

 

Thinking quickly, he brought Bruce into his bedroom.  “JARVIS, let me know if he wakes up, okay?  I’ve got some things to take care of,” he murmured after getting the other man settled.  Bruce just rolled over onto his side and curled up, burrowing under the covers.  Tony smiled, one gauntleted hand reaching out to stroke lightly across Bruce’s shoulders.

 

 _“Of course, sir,”_ JARVIS replied just as quietly.  _“I will keep watch over Doctor Banner and inform you should he show signs of waking or distress.”_   Tony nodded, took one last look at the sleeping scientist, and strode back out of the room.  He had some Avengers to talk to.

 

Deciding that he’d probably fare better talking to them all one at a time, Tony opted not to have JARVIS gather them.  He had another job for him anyhow.  “J, I need you to find out what the Hulk Bunker used to be.  Who owned it, what it was used for, that sort of thing.”  Coulson had shown up there, he had the damn coordinates, which meant that it had, at some point, been used by SHIELD, HYDRA, or simply Nick Fury himself.

 

 _“Understood, sir,”_ JARVIS replied promptly.  Tony smiled; he could always trust JARVIS to do exactly as he was told, and not turn on him.  He might snark at him now and again, but that was just because Tony had created him, and taught him.  The AI was bound to pick up some of his more…eccentric personality quirks after nearly thirty years of existence.  Of course, JARVIS had also taken after Pepper in Tony herding duties. And maybe a bit after Rhodey, too.  But mostly him and Pepper.

 

Locating Clint and Natasha was easy, since the two of them were together on Clint’s floor.  Clint  was settled in the loft, in a nest of blankets, while Natasha sat curled up in a squashy armchair, reading a book.  They both looked up when Tony entered, but neither one protested his invasion of their privacy.  Tony just stopped and stared at them, not entirely sure what he was waiting for.  He really just wanted to yell at them, but the hours spent destroying scrap heaps had helped his temper immensely.

 

Clint spoke first, while Tony was still debating what he wanted to say.  “I’m sorry, Tony,” he said contritely.  “I know it wasn’t your fault, and I’m sorry that I took it out on you.”  He was being sincere, and Tony sighed to himself.  He couldn’t really blame the other man for losing it.

 

“I may have overreacted a little bit,” he admitted, as close to an apology as he could get without actually apologizing.  “If I had known Coulson was coming with Fury, I would have at least tried to warn you.”  He took a deep breath, not really wanting to say what he was about to.  “And if you two decide that you want to help Coulson rebuild SHIELD, I’d appreciate it if you’d at least let us know before pulling a super assassin ninja move or something and just disappearing, okay?”

 

He didn’t bother to wait for an answer, ducking back into the elevator, which had remained open for him the entire time he was in there.  The door closed on Natasha’s words, but Tony got the gist of it.  They’d let someone know.  He sighed, pressing the button for Steve’s floor, leaning casually against the back of the elevator.  The door opened, and Tony took half a dozen steps inside before realizing that the rooms were empty.  So, if Steve wasn’t here, then where was he?

 

Tony rolled his eyes, muttering about super soldiers and the destruction of heavy-duty punching bags as he descended down to the recreation floor.  He could hear the sounds of sparring going on, and realized that someone was in there with Steve. It was a toss-up as to whether it was Sam or Thor, though.  It could also be Barnes.

 

He had his answer a moment later, as he walked in to utter chaos.  It was like a damn free-for-all in the gym, all the equipment moved back to the edges of the room.  Thor, Sam, Barnes, and Steve were all having it out, caught somewhere between laughter and determination.  Watching them, Tony wondered if he could make money betting on who would come out on top.

 

Wilson tapped out first, hitting the ground with a harsh grunt, the wind knocked out of him.  “All right, that’s it.  I’m done playing with the big boys now,” he grumbled good-naturedly.  Thor just grinned at him, then turned to meet Steve as the other man leapt towards him, Barnes taking his other side.  Two-on-one, and the Asgardian prince was holding his own.  Tony was impressed.

 

Sam had caught sight of him and padded over barefoot to stand next to him, a towel draped over his shoulders as he watched the melee in the center of the floor.  “You know I wasn’t accusing you or anything,” he said, and it wasn’t a question.

 

Tony nodded.  “Yeah,” he said after a beat.  Then, “I’ve got JARVIS looking into something right now, but he’s already finished scanning the old design for your Falcon wings.  EXO-7, right?” he asked.

 

Sam nodded, smiling at him.  “EXO-7 Falcon,” he agreed.  “Your design?” he asked next.  Tony shook his head; it had actually been his father’s.  But Tony knew he could do better.  He already had some ideas.  Sam understood without him saying anything.  “Ah, your father’s,” he murmured softly, falling silent afterwards.  Tony glanced sideways at him, but Sam was back to focusing on the fight playing out in front of them, so Tony allowed himself to go back to watching, as well.

 

Barnes was actually the next one to tap out, when Thor grabbed hold of Steve and threw him into Barnes, sending them both sprawling to the ground.  Barnes was able to fling Steve off of him, but found himself pinned by Mjölnir, unable to move as it held him down.  He glared up at Thor, who just smiled smugly, and promptly had to duck to avoid getting slammed in the face with Cap’s shield.  “Eyes on the prize, Point-Break!” Tony called out cheerfully.

 

“Oh, is there a prize involved, friend Anthony?” Thor replied, equally amused and grinning broadly as he swung his large fist at Steve.  He couldn’t summon his hammer without freeing Barnes, but the dark-haired man wasn’t about to go down without a fight.  When Thor was in range, he kicked his feet out, tripping the Asgardian.  Steve was on top of him instantly, trying to pin him.

 

With a great shout of laughter, Thor rolled him, and they tumbled across the floor, wrestling like children.  Barnes was scowling because he couldn’t help the Captain.  Oh, yeah.  Tony could _totally_ make some money off of this.  He’d have to get JARVIS to play the video feed back later.

 

“Please tell me there will be pictures,” Sam said from beside him.

 

Tony nodded.  “And video,” he added smugly.  Sam’s grin turned positively gleeful.  Barnes must have overheard, because he was glaring at them now.  Against the far wall, Thor had pinned Steve, who was still struggling, trying to get his legs up to throw the god off of him.  Tony glanced at Sam and caught his eyes, tilting his head towards the two blondes on the floor.  “Think we should maybe go help?” he asked.

 

“Which one?” Sam responded, his eyes sparkling.  He was more relaxed than Tony had ever seen him, which made him inordinately pleased with himself, even if he hadn’t been the exact cause of the other man’s comfort here.

 

Tony shrugged.  “I’m thinking Capsicle, but you can help whoever you want,” he said dismissively.

 

Sam choked next to him.   “Capsicle?” he asked, a sort of fascinated horror in his tone.  “Do you really call him that?”  He walked next to Tony as they headed over to help…someone.

 

Tony just laughed.

 

 


End file.
